Articles on: SimplyPrint features

Reading filament NFC tags: what to expect when scanning spools

When you scan an NFC tag in SimplyPrint's filament manager - whether from your phone, a browser with Web NFC, or a desktop NFC reader - you're trying to find or identify a filament spool. This article explains the different results you might see after scanning, and what each one means.

For a full overview of NFC support and hardware, check out the NFC overview article.

What you'll see after scanning

There are four possible outcomes when you scan an NFC filament tag. Here's what each one means and what you can do.

Spool found in your inventory

This is the best case. The NFC tag is already linked to one of your existing spools - either because you assigned it yourself, or because it was auto-created (for example, through Bambu Lab AMS syncing). You'll see your spool details right away.

Nothing else to do here - you tapped the tag and found the exact spool you were looking for.

Detected spool - not in your inventory

The NFC tag contains data from a recognized filament standard (like OpenTag, OpenSpool, OpenPrintTag, Creality, Anycubic, Qidi, or Bambu Lab). We read the tag and show you a "Detected spool" card with the brand, material, color, and weight we found on it.

We also check the OpenFilamentDatabase - a community-driven database of filament data - to find an exact match. If we find one, you'll see a "Matched in OpenFilamentDatabase" indicator.

This typically happens when you have a new spool that hasn't been added to SimplyPrint yet. The tag has data on it, we just need to create the spool in your inventory. You can do this quickly with the Add to inventory button (more on that below).

No match found, but we see data

Sometimes we detect a standard on the tag but can't find a matching filament in the OpenFilamentDatabase. This happens with newer or less common filaments. You can still add the spool manually using the data we did find.

If your filament isn't in the OpenFilamentDatabase, consider contributing it! The more filaments in the database, the better the experience for everyone. You can submit data at the OpenFilamentDatabase GitHub.

Empty or unreadable tag

If we can't find any content on the NFC tag, there are a few possible reasons:

Brand new tag - The tag hasn't been written to yet. You can assign a spool to it or write data to it through SimplyPrint.
Encrypted tag - Some brands encrypt their NFC tags. Bambu Lab is the most common example - their tags contain data, but third-party readers can't decode it (see the tip below).
Damaged or incompatible tag - The tag might be broken, or it may not be compatible with your reader hardware.

If a tag appears empty but it's from a Bambu Lab spool, don't worry! Bambu Lab encrypts their NFC tags. SimplyPrint reads Bambu Lab spool data automatically through the AMS material sync feature instead - no manual NFC scanning needed.

Assigning NFC tags to spools

Even if we can't read or identify what's on an NFC tag - for instance, if it's encrypted or empty - you can still assign it to one of your existing spools. This works because every NFC tag has a unique ID (serial number) that we can always read, even if the actual data on the tag is encrypted or missing.

When you assign a tag, we link this unique ID to your spool. We don't change anything on the tag itself - the data stays exactly as it is. This means:

Encrypted tags (like Bambu Lab) keep working with their original hardware (e.g. the AMS), while SimplyPrint also recognizes them by their ID.
Blank tags get linked to your spool even without any data written to them. You can optionally write data to them later.

How to assign an NFC tag to a spool:

Go to Filament in the left menu.
Open the spool you want to link the tag to.
Click Assign NFC tag.
Scan the NFC tag when prompted.

That's it - the tag is now linked. Next time you scan it, SimplyPrint will show you the linked spool directly.

Assigning a tag is not the same as writing to it. Assigning only links the tag's ID to your spool - it doesn't change the data stored on the tag. Writing creates new data on the tag in a specific standard format (like OpenTag or Creality).

The OpenFilamentDatabase

When we detect a filament standard on a scanned tag, we check the data against the OpenFilamentDatabase - an open source, community-driven database of filament brands, materials, colors, and variants. This is what powers the "Matched in OpenFilamentDatabase" indicator you might see on a detected spool.

If your filament isn't found in the database, you can contribute it so others benefit too. The more complete the database, the better auto-detection works for everyone.

Quick add to inventory

When a spool is detected from an NFC tag but isn't in your inventory yet, you can add it in one tap. The Add to inventory button pre-fills all the information we could read from the tag - brand, material, color, weight - so you don't have to enter it manually.

This makes it really fast to get new spools into your system. Scan the tag, review the details, and hit add.

Hardware and reading methods

Different NFC readers have different capabilities. Here's what to keep in mind:

Mobile app / Web NFC - Great for quick scans and basic tag reading. Works well for finding spools in your inventory and detecting common standards.
Desktop NFC reader (via NFC Agent) - Provides deeper tag access, including reading raw memory. This is important for some vendor-specific standards.

For best results detecting third-party filament standards like Creality, Qidi, and Anycubic, use the NFC Agent desktop reader. These standards store data in raw memory that requires deeper tag access than basic NFC reading provides.

For a full list of supported hardware, see the NFC overview article. For setup instructions and details on the desktop reader, see the NFC Agent article.

Updated on: 07/03/2026

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